Hidden Front, Follow Me

"Kid, can you solve a problem by masking it with multiple questions?" Zhang Bairen shook his head with a chuckle. "You don’t need to worry. My lineage hasn’t been severed. Though many fine men have sacrificed themselves for the great cause, Zhang Kuang’s father and great-grandfather are still alive. Once the Purple Star Immortal Realm emerges, they can remarry and continue the bloodline. You have no reason to feel guilty!"

Hearing this, Chen Yi fell silent for a moment before asking solemnly, "So only Zhang Kuang’s father and great-grandfather remain?"

It had to be said—the bloodline of the Artifact Daoist was truly formidable. Though passed down through a single heir in each generation, every descendant was a powerhouse, unrivaled in the world!

Not to mention the distant past, just take Zhang Kuang as an example. On the Purple Star Continent, aside from himself and Xuanxuzi of the Taixu Sacred Land, no one could suppress him!

And yet, he was still slightly inferior to his father. Among the ascendants of the previous generation, even the Taixu Sacred Land’s Daoist heir had lost to Zhang Kuang’s father, forced to settle for second place!

Yet despite such a dominant bloodline, generation after generation ascending to immortality, by the time they reached the Immortal Realm, their numbers had dwindled to just two or three?

Just how immense must the pressure they faced have been?

Zhang Bairen sighed faintly. "Senior Cui must have already told you—the Immortal Realm is the homeland of immortals, not ours. To make the Purple Star Immortal Realm emerge, to give wandering souls a place to return, no sacrifice... is too great."

"Senior..." Chen Yi hesitated but still asked, "Are you certain the Purple Star Immortal Realm will truly appear?"

"Would you abandon the effort just because you aren’t certain?" Zhang Bairen smiled faintly. "The River of Time flows into the sea at its end, symbolizing infinite possibilities. All we can do is strive!"

Chen Yi bowed deeply in respect. "Your righteousness is unparalleled, Senior. I believe the Purple Star Immortal Realm will surely emerge!"

"Hah, if only you’d spare us some worry, kid, instead of constantly stirring up chaos!" Even Zhang Bairen couldn’t resist offering a few words of caution.

It wasn’t that the kid’s troublemaking was bad—in fact, the more chaos he caused, the higher their chances of success!

The problem was that his actions were impossible to predict. He’d leap out without warning and flip the entire situation upside down!

If not for their swift reactions, they’d never be able to clean up the messes he left behind!

Because of him, their group of "ghosts" embedded deep within enemy ranks lived in constant fear, forced to prepare dozens—even hundreds—of contingency plans for every move. And worst of all, these weren’t even to guard against enemies, but to prevent their own people from acting recklessly!

Like right now!

Even after Senior Cui had explicitly warned him, this kid still stubbornly ventured where he shouldn’t have!

Thankfully, Zhang Bairen had arrived in time. Otherwise, given the kid’s capabilities, he might have caused massive turbulence in the River of Time—or even a catastrophic breach!

Don’t be fooled by the fact that this was just a clone. The will controlling it belonged to his true self. While clones had their limits, his true form was unfathomable. Who knew what he might do?!

"Kid, the River of Time in the Divine Realm is under strict surveillance by the Immortal Realm. Wandering around is fine—I can cover for you. But tampering with the River of Time? That’s unacceptable!"

"Though the River of Time can be intercepted, its continuity must never be broken. In a way, it’s like a riverbank—a single disturbance affects the whole. If you truly extracted a segment of history and caused upheaval in the Divine Realm’s River of Time, even I wouldn’t be able to shield you!"

Chen Yi quickly nodded obediently. "You worry too much, Senior. I was just thinking out loud. Senior Cui’s warnings are etched in my heart—how could I recklessly disrupt things?"

Zhang Bairen waved a hand. "Enough. Your purpose here must be to witness the Divine Realm before its collapse. But I must tell you—that segment of history intersects with the Immortal Realm, forming a parallel main branch of the River of Time. It’s already under heavy surveillance, and now, with the former Immortal Emperor Ling Xiao hiding within, the current sovereign, His Majesty Wuji, has severed it with supreme power. There’s no way through!"

"Ah... I see." Chen Yi couldn’t hide his disappointment.

"However!" Zhang Bairen’s tone suddenly shifted. "I can take you there. But you must cloak yourself in that special concealment method of yours—so thoroughly that even I can’t sense you!"

As a fanatical artificer, he was intensely curious about Chen Yi’s concealment technique. He longed to examine and study it!

But alas, direct contact was impossible.

After all, he was now Wuji’s man—a deeply embedded "ghost," the most crucial hidden piece on their side!

Thus, he had to act with extreme caution. Even the slightest risk of exposing the kid’s proudest technique to His Majesty Wuji was unacceptable.

So, looking was fine—touching was absolutely forbidden!

"Senior, watch closely—here I go!"

Chen Yi understood Zhang Bairen’s hint perfectly. Sneaking through? That was his specialty. Without hesitation, he pulled out his concealment cloak and draped it over himself, then—

Activated it!

Hum~

"What a marvelous treasure!"

Zhang Bairen couldn’t help but praise, raising a thumbs-up.

Though he’d braced himself, seeing Chen Yi vanish before his eyes—completely undetectable by any means—still left him stunned.

Truly a technique capable of evading even the Immortal Realm’s Heavenly Dao perception! Impressive indeed!

"What now, Senior?"

Chen Yi lifted a corner of the cloak, revealing just his mouth to ask.

"From this moment on, I’ll act as if I never saw you. Just some unknown contamination I picked up along the way. Follow quietly behind me."

With that, Zhang Bairen turned away, subtly tilting his Spacetime Umbrella to leave a barely perceptible gap.

Chen Yi immediately understood and swiftly slipped inside!

Admittedly, moving with the mechanism’s flow was far more comfortable. Beneath the umbrella, the pressure of the temporal barrier was almost negligible—like walking under shelter during rain, rather than struggling to swim against a current.

The gap closed swiftly. Trusting Chen Yi’s speed, Zhang Bairen then began murmuring to himself as if struck by sudden insight.

"The River of Time holds no causality, yet causality is everywhere. A single stir affects the whole. Even an ordinary blade of grass may grow into a towering existence. And in its ascent, heaven and earth unite in its favor. Without sufficient strength to sever causality, backlash is inevitable."

Listening closely, Chen Yi sensed deeper meaning in Zhang Bairen’s words—superficially a warning to him, yet seemingly hinting at something more.

"Immortal, present His Majesty Wuji’s authorized search decree, or halt your steps!"

A stern voice rang out. Zhang Bairen immediately stopped and raised a golden token inscribed with flowing Dao patterns.

"Verification complete. Permission granted!"

"Apologies, Immortal. Routine procedure—we beg your understanding."

Zhang Bairen waved it off. "No matter. With the traitor Ling Xiao at large, caution is necessary. You’ve done well."

"Thank you for your grace, Immortal. Please proceed along this path."

The Spacetime Immortal General guarding the critical temporal node bowed, then brandished an obsidian banner, opening a narrow passage across the severed River of Time for Zhang Bairen to cross.